• About school councils

    - What is a school council?
    - Do you have any draft constitution or policy documents that we can develop?
    - How many schools have a school council?
    - What can a school council do?
    - Do school councils have a budget?
    - Aren’t school councils exclusive and just for the brightest kids?
    - Do schools have to have school councils?
    - What kind of training do school councils need?
    - What happens if the teacher disagrees with the school council?
    - What is the difference between school council and pupil voice?
    - How can I get funding for training?
    - What do I do if students aren’t interested in the council?

• About School Councils UK

    - How is School Councils UK funded?
    - What it the School Councils Network?
    - Can School Councils UK come to my school to do training?
    - What else can School Councils UK do to help my school 
      council?     
    - Are there any jobs at School Councils UK?

• About this website

    - Is there anything free for me on the website?
    - What is ‘My school council’?
    - What is the 'School Code' and how do I use it?
    - Can I buy anything on this site?

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We don't have any policy documents to share with you at present, but we would suggest two types are needed. You might decide to split them into different documents, or have all as one document, it's up to you:

• A constitution - this lays out roles on the council, how the council operates and the links between the council and other students and bodies.
• A school policy - this lays out how the structures of the school council fit in with the structures and processes of the school.

We would also strongly suggest that both of these are drawn up as the result of dialogue between staff and students.

Here are a series of questions that you should have policy for:

• Is the school council mentioned in the school development plan?
• Is the school council involved in writing the school development plan?
• Are there clear structures that link every pupil to a member of the school council?

• Does the school council have a constitution that lays out:

- What makes a meeting quorate.
- How elections are to be run.
- When and how feedback is to be given between electorate and representative.
- What the role of a representative is.
- What the role of any other posts on the council are.
- How and why a sub-committee may be formed.
- The role of sub-committees.
- The role of any other school council structures (e.g. class councils, year councils).
- In diagrammatic form, how the various structures of the council link up.
- In diagrammatic form how the various other decision-making bodies (SMT, Governors, PTA, etc.) in the school link to the school council.
- What issues (if any) the school council may not discuss.
- What issues (if any) the school council needs to consult with staff on before it can discuss.
- How the school council can raise money.
- How the school council can spend its money.
- Which adults will come to school council meetings.
- What the role of any adults at school council meetings will be.
- How any and all pupils can get an issue discussed by the council.
- What every pupil can expect when they ask the school council something  (how long it will take to get a response, what sort of feedback they will get).
- How minutes will be kept.
- What will happen to minutes after each meeting.
- How the agenda will be arrived at.
- How and when the agenda will be distributed.
- The method for arriving at decisions (consensus, majority vote, 2/3rds vote, veto, etc.).
- Minimum communications the school council will put out over a given time period (e.g. how often website will be updated, how regularly newsletter will go out).
- How frequently meetings will happen at every level (e.g. class, year, school council and Head/Chair of Governors/Chair of School Council).
- An agreement with staff on response times to requests from school council (e.g. the Head will respond within a week to any letter sent to her by the school council).

How many schools have a school council?
Research carried out by the Institute of Education in 2007 showed that over 90% of schools now have some form of school council.  Of course that doesn't mean they are necessarily effective.

What can a school council do?
That's a very big question.  The answer is 'anything' that it sets is mind to.  There are loads of examples of school councils making big changes; from the toilets, lunches and the playground, through to fundraising, events and school uniform and on to lessons, interviewing new staff and homework.

Do school councils have a budget?
Well it's a very good idea, and many schools see the benefit of this, however not all schools give their school council a budget.  The Institute of Education recommend that schools give 0.05% of their whole school budget to the school council.  Which although not a huge amount, is a good starting point.

Aren’t school councils exclusive and just for the brightest kids?
No.  Firstly a school council should be democratically elected, so anyone that shows they are dedicated and keen to make a difference can be voted onto the school council.  Secondly an effective school council works to make sure that all pupils in the school are enagaged in the decision making process of the school, so really it should involve absolutely everyone.

Do schools have to have school councils?
In Wales it is the law that every school must have a school council.  In Northern Ireland, Scotland and England there is no law about this.  But the United Nations Convention of Rights of the Child states very clearly that 'Children have the right to give their opinion, and for adults to listen and take it seriously.'  Also Ofsted, Estyn, HMIE and DENI strongly encourage schools to have active student voice and participation in the decisions that affect them.

What kind of training do school councils need?
If you want your school council to work well then training is a very good idea.  There are some skills that are essential, including meeting skills, decision making skills, negotiation and discussion skills, communication and whole school involvement.

What happens if the teacher disagrees with the school council?
The school council will work best if everyone in the school is behind it.  That's all pupils, teachers, senior management staff, non-teaching staff and governors.  Sometimes people need persuading that a school council is a good idea.  Usually after a while they can see the benefit of it and will come round, but even if one or two teachers can't be persuaded then that's no reason to give up.  The most important thing is to have the support of the head teacher.

What is the difference between school council and pupil voice?
Pupil voice is broad term that people use when describing the involvement of pupils in the running of their school, or providing opportunties for pupils to express their concerns and views.  A school council is a long-term structured way to ensure that these things happen effectively, involve all pupils and continue to function from year to year.

How can I get funding for training?
The best place to start is within your own school.  You may need to win the argument that ensuring the school council is effective is the best way to create long-term structures for pupil involvement and that a strong school council will impact positively on behaviour, attainment and teacher / pupil relations.

The Local Authority may also have a budget for this.  Every authority is different but you should have a Healthy Schools Co-ordinator, a pupil voice co-ordinator, possibly a citizenship team or even a school improvement officer.

What do I do if students aren’t interested in the council?
Well, first of all it takes time and commitment.  You won't get everyone on side over night.
If you're starting from scratch and are having trouble getting involvement you could start off by getting a small group of interested pupils together to organise a promotional campaign.  Including posters, presentations and a school wide election week.  All you need is a few energetic candidates to start campaigning for votes and before you know it people are talking about it and deciding that they want to stand as well.

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How is School Councils UK funded?
School Councils UK is a registered charity and doesn't receive any core funding.  About 60 - 70% of our income is generated by the sale of resources, training, membership to the School Councils Network and consultancy.  The rest is received through funding for specific projects, such as; new resources, research projects and developing training programmes.  We have been funded by a number of different organisations.

What is the School Councils Network?
The School Councils Network grew out of the need for schools and school councils to find and talk to each other. Sharing their ideas and successes and supporting each other to develop effective pupil participation.  In the 4 years that the network has been running we have had over 4000 member schools.  

As a member your school will get many exclusive services and resources, as well as access to www.myschoolcouncil.org.

Can School Councils UK come to my school to do training?
Yes, training is a major part of our work.  In 2007 we trained apporoximately 3000 teachers and pupils.  We can develop training to meet your school's specific needs.  You can find out more in the training section of this website or by calling our training team on 020 7482 8912, or e-mail training@schoolcouncils.org

What else can School Councils UK do to help my school council?
We run Regional Training Days that you are invited to attend, we have a range of resources that will help you set up, develop and improve your school council, we have an online collection of case studies and relevant research reports for you to download, as well as loads of free lesson plans, school council tools and activity guides.

Without the doubt the best way to get ongoing support is to join the School Councils Network, which will mean you'll have full access to the website and be able to get in touch with us at any time for advice and guidance.

Are there any jobs at School Councils UK?
School Councils UK are growing fast and we do often have jobs come up.  Check out our vacancy page to see any new opportunities.

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What is the school code?
This is the code that identifies your pupils as members of your school.

How to use the school code:
Distribute the code to members of the school council, other pupils, teachers, parents and governors. Instruct them to go to www.myschoolcouncil.org and click on ‘new user’ to register.

Can I buy anything on this site?
You can buy all of our resource, training and membership of the School Councils Network by visiting www.schoolcouncilshop.org.